Excerpt: "Speaking on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday, Cheney said Obama was inconsistent for criticizing the former administration's approach to terrorism while also using 'some of the same techniques the Bush administration did.'"
File photo, Dick Cheney speaking, 03/19/09. (photo: Matthew Cavanaugh/EPA/Corbis)
Cheney Wants an Apology From Obama
02 October 11
ormer Vice President Dick Cheney applauded the US drone strike that killed American-born al Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki but added that President Obama now owed the Bush administration an apology for claiming they "overreacted to 9/11."
Speaking on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday, Cheney said Obama was inconsistent for criticizing the former administration's approach to terrorism while also using "some of the same techniques the Bush administration did."
"We developed the technique and the technology for it," said Cheney of the drone strike that killed Awlaki.
Cheney took particular issue with the administration's reluctance to describe the fight against al Qaeda as a "war" and Obama's 2009 speech in Cairo where he walked back from many Bush administration policies.
"The thing I'm waiting for is for the administration to go back and correct something they said two years ago when they criticized us for 'overreacting' to the events of 9/11," said Cheney. "They, in effect, said that we had walked away from our ideals, or taken policy contrary to our ideals when we had enhanced interrogation techniques."
"Now they clearly had moved in the direction of taking robust action when they feel it is justified. I say in this case I think it was, but I think they need to go back and reconsider what the president said when he was in Cairo," he added.
"If you've got the president of the United States out there saying we overreacted to 9/11 on our watch, that's not good," said Cheney.
When asked by CNN host Candy Crowley if Cheney expected an apology from the president, the former vice president said, "Well, I would. I think that would be not for me, but I think for the Bush administration, and that he misspoke when he gave that speech in Cairo two years ago."
His daughter Liz Cheney, co-founder of Keep America Safe, a national security advocacy group, agreed and rebuked the president for his earlier criticism of enhanced interrogation techniques.
"I think he did tremendous damage. I think he slandered the nation and I think he owes an apology to the American people. Those are the policies that kept us safe," she said.
"We know now Leon Panetta has said some of the intelligence we gained through that program helped us identify the location of bin Laden. So I think the president owes everybody an apology, frankly."
Cheney praised the strike however and defended the president's decision. "I do think this was a good strike. I think the president ought to have that kind of authority to order that kind of strike, even when it involves an American citizen when there is clear evidence that he's part of al Qaeda, planning, cooperating and supporting attacks against the United States," he said.
Awlaki was an influential leader in al Qaeda. But the Obama administration's decision to authorize the killing of the American-born cleric led to criticism from civil rights advocates who said he should have received a trial in American court.
"I think you've got to go through the process internally, making certain it's reviewed by the appropriate people in the Justice Department, that they take a good, careful look at it. But I think they did all of that in this case. And I think the president has all the authority he needs to order this kind of strike," said Cheney.
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Comments
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Cheney is an egocentric maniac who needs to be in chains. Apology??? For what? For saying Bush/Cheney "overreacted to 9/11" by GOING INTO IRAQ?? Yes, that was wrong to do and illegal. It was more than an overreaction; it was a crime, an invasion!!! and the murder of innocent people.
Get off the airwaves, Chainmaster. And you mainstream media, start talking to the people who count! Stop giving criminals air time. The rest of the world won't even let these criminals into their countries; we should silence them in ours! And do it now!
N.
This guy must have balls the size of rotten grapefruits. For him, or anyone else from that administration, to suggest they are owed an apology for *anything* is totally beyond the pale.
They should be kissing America's ass in thanks that they've not been made to answer for the incredible mess in which they left our country.
The spineless International court however prosecutes only "small, unimportant" rulers instead of the real criminals. The US set a precedence with the Nuernberg trials, (which by International standards, existing laws were a farce, mainly they were post facto). Why not then use the same "laws" on American war criminals? Go figure.
So far, Cheney's been very fortunate not to have been prosecuted. If he continues poking his head out from under that rock he lives under, he may find the tide has turned and that's he's been indicted, along with Bush, as a War Criminal.
Even though the administration has kept the old Clinton/Gore policy of extraordinary rendition available to them (a policy Bush/Cheney seldom needed after Gitmo was opened) they seem to prefer killing to capturing and obtaining intelligence.
Now, there is less risk to US soldiers in using the drone policy, unless one considers the flash back anger created in the Islamic villages getting bombarded in the quiet of night.
I offer no opinion on what is preferred - and would offer that to some weighted extent, this was partially just the way the battle had been morphing towards for some time, as the technology became more and more readily available. I would, however, offer that the pain and suffering from the more innocent children and women bystanders seriously injured in these attacks make the suffering endured by the 3 loan terrorists who were water boarded by the Bush administration pale in comparison.
I am not dismissing the suffering of innocents by drone attacks. But if you want to claim Cheney/Bush "just waterboarded" then you should read up on the absolute horror of depleted uranium.
Cheney is a monster and Bush was his puppet.
"Bush on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President", was written by a psychiatrist, Justin Frank. He astutely analyzes Bush who was among many other things, a sadist.
How do you make up such nonsense?
The largest volume of DU to ever be fired has been in Iraq.
Cheney would never be so callused as to say the same for you.
"I tell people don't kill all the liberals, leave enough around so we can have two on every campus; living fossils, so we will never forget what these people stood for."
--Rush Limbaugh
Re: President Clinton: "Get rid of him, impeach him, censure him, assassinate him." --Rep. James Hansen, R-Utah (11-1-98)
And what about right-wingers who have shot down doctors who provided abortions? And the Tea Party nimrods who bring guns to Presidential appearances?
You may want to re-think your statement. See if you can find an instance in which a Liberal assassinated a Conservative.
Bill Clinton -" I think the main thing I want to say to you is, people can quarrel with whether we should have more troops in Afghanistan or internationaliz e Iraq or whatever, but it is incontestable that on the day I left office, there were unaccounted for stocks......... of biological and chemical weapons. ...... And what I think -- again, I would say the most important thing is we should focus on what's the best way to build Iraq as a democracy? [..]
We should be pulling for America on this. We should be pulling for the people of Iraq. We can have honest disagreements about where we go from here, and we have space now to discuss that in what I hope will be a nonpartisan and open way."
End excerpt.
Senator Carl Levin, Democrat - on Intelligence committee:
'Hardball with Chris Matthews' Nov. 7, 2005
Senator Carl Levin (D) of Michigan, a member of the Intelligence Committee
"- look there was plenty of evidence that Saddam had nuclear weapons, by the way. That is not in dispute. There is plenty of evidence of that."
Nov. 2005. Go figure.
Slow down on the drugs OK? Anyone showing up with a gun at a Presidential appearance is in jail - as they should be.
Besides, Obama has really upped the fence them out which Bush had elevated from the Clinton years before.
There's a lot of loud voices out there. Just heard Rosanne call for beheading Republicans - nice.
Most everyone you see around Obama when he is out is bused in - locals are kept away - except for extremely orchestrated events.
Besides, Obama has really upped the fence them out which Bush had elevated from the Clinton years before.
There's a lot of loud voices out there. Just heard Rosanne call for beheading Republicans - nice
Most everyone you see around Obama when he is out is bused in - locals are kept away - except for extremely orchestrated events.
Gosh mate, you must live in a cave sponsored by FOX studios.
I recall trying to get within FOUR blocks of Bush/Cheney visits to Portland, Oregon TWICE, encountering barricades at all sides and the Darth Vader riot-gear hard cases in phalanxes t'other sides of said barricades.
Obama seems pretty accessible at most public events as much as a president can be (especially given the amounts of racist threats directed at him and the gun-toting menace of the right).
So again you are hoisting y'r own tunnel-vision accusations based on the sins of the predecessors, who specialized in stage-,managed "public appearances" as do the current crop of Obama-Bashers and wannabe presidents, onto the other side of the equation.
Please use facts, not fabrications or you'll learn nothing!
I remember a stop by Obama up in Montana (??). A crowd of well wishers - supporters had gathered at the small airport. They were kept way back. As they waited to see the President, a convoy of buses pulled up - SEIU union workers bussed in. That's the cheering crowd the president waved to - as he entered the high priced affair where they dined on imported Kobe beef and lobster --- not Montana's famous grass fed organic beef.
It's the in-your-face crap that stands out.
Not true!
I'm anti-death penalty and I agree that you can't be such and want one particular person to die, no matter how much the may appear to deserve it. I'd just like to see him do hard time for his crimes.
To put this in perspective, I remember Gore Vidal, in a recent interview on "Democracy Now" state "I'm against the the Death penalty but not for this crowd!".
But you are right in as much as they all should have PUBLIC due process served upon them, especially this coward in a suit who had SEVEN deferrals to prevent him serving in Vietnam but has no problem sending others to die for a lie!
By the way "callused" is a skin condition brought about by much use of that area of skin (like from hard and/or repetitive work) -hardly applicable to Cheney. I think you mean "Callous", which means unfeeling and inhumane, which most certainly does.
The very fact that he is still claiming justification for his crimes and support of torture, collateral damage and the calculated destruction of one of the cradles of civilization and the death or disabling of hundreds of thousands, make "callous" seem like a nursery story!
Wrong again pal!
Or Bill Clinton for looking the other way as the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in a horrible genocide.
Or Bill Clinton, who as he as promising Rwanda, "never again," was turning his back on the historic civil war and genocides next door already going on in the DR Congo - where upwards of 3 million would died by the end of 2000.
And on and on and on.
The 2000's saw much less war and death than the 1990's.
And now Obama is a killing machine.
And few care.
The 2000's saw much more war and death than the 1990's.
Cheney/Bush hold the top honors as killing machines; 2 UNFUNDED WARS while cutting taxes and sending our youth to Iraq with flimsy armor. And even then, Bush made sure the wealthy didn't have to pay for it.
"You go to war with the army you have..."
And you defend them.
One might ponder what the outcome of not coming to the aid of Afghanistan during the mid-90's crisis has actually cost the world in terms of lives lost. Would taking out the Taliban then -early on - accomplished more than forcing Bin Laden to set up shop elsewhere? Might he have met his fate earlier - or might he have become more powerful stationed in Somalia or Yemen . . or?
Sec Madeline Albright said that sanctions in Iraq during the Clinton years had caused the death of 1/2 million children - and that the cost was a necessary one (or "worth it" (?)). Of course the 4,5 or 6 named military campaigns in Iraq by Clinton took quite a toll in lives, as well (not as many as Bush's war - granted).
The flimsy armor was not Bush's fault . You do have the equipment you have - on day one of anything. You might recall that the US military had been left to scrap during the 90's (Clinton used all the cruise missiles - budget cuts) and Gore was proposing to spend more coming in than was Bush.
It is what it is.
Still - Yes, a heck of a bad plan.
18-eighteen!-members of PNAC were in the Bush Administration. Gary Schmitt, a former director for PNAC, stated upon their dissolution in 2007, "We did not have anyone sitting on Bush's shoulder."
Biggest lie I've ever heard.
dissolution
Oh, there were many pondering such as this, in Salon:
Why President Gore might have gone into Iraq after 9/11, too . -- Americans don't think the world would be much different if he'd been president on 9/11 -- and they may be right
http://politics.salon.com/2011/08/30/gore_president_iraq/singleton/
As for Gore, we'll never know.
Couldn't, wouldn't, shouldn't?
Seems to many now - that only after Obama became President (perhaps it began during the transition as the Bush transition team (an historic effort here) brought them up to date.), he realized that it couldn't be done his way.
Now - he's deeply involved in policies here - that this same left would have taken Cheney to the lumber mill over.
Read Jonah Goldberg's column today - a very honest appraisal of the issue.
Your rebuttal to me - ignored the entire challenging question in front of us - leaning to bring up some entirely different and unrelated matter to that at hand. Nonsense was there.
But I can change gears - did Pres Obama order end the use of DU entirely the day he came in? If not, then he would be just as guilty as you claim the Bush/Cheney folks were. See - you suggest that Cheney just up and says - "hey, why don't we create some new projectiles that not only are more effective - but that will leave a legacy of horror behind."
It doesn't work that way. Are all of them a bit calloused - and usually not being visionary as new advancements are introduced and put into service? Yep.
The man is a proven liar who enriched his vested interests at the expense of this nation's liberty and good standing in the world.
There is nothing Cheney says that can be taken as anything other than spin and "shock and awe" bs. He had his chance to make good on Bin Ladin and he chose to go after Saddam. Enough already.
I thought a royal edict of "off with his head" was a Lewis Carroll parody of regal excess - not SOP for the president of the US. Most people assume bin Laden was responsible for 9/11. Cheney said so and who could doubt him? But there has been no trial, no proof offered - at least not to the public. The same goes for Awlaki. I guess the 6th Amendment has become a little quaint. It is easier to simply kill anyone The Royal President (or RVP) doesn't like.
No apologies appear to be coming from any part of the US government, past or present for these matters.
Richard Bruce Cheney needs to crawl up Pennsylvania Avenue in sackcloth and ashes and beg the world's forgiveness for his many high crimes and misdemeanors. His conceited, snarling mug is an abomination to every liberty-loving American hoping there is still any truth and justice in the "American Way".
And lets get something straight, Dick: you and your cadre are the ones who have done tremendous damage to the nation. We are not a safer nation today because of policies like water boarding. We're a nation degraded by such policies.
Gore (while stating that it was against international law) pushed Clinton to authorize the US policy of Extraordinary Rendition, however. And that was long before 9/11. Certainly many of them being sent to Turkey or Egypt probably saw worse than waterboarding - ya think?
Let's see - from start of the war (March 20th) to the end of the Bush term, would be 2100 days.
1,455,590 divided by 2100 days ='s 693 deaths per day - each and every day for 2100 days.
I suspect that in the early days, US forces may have wiped out an Iraqi military camp and got that many.
And I do remember a number of horrific suicide and truck bombings (and that awful day on the bridge) when al Qaeda terrorists - and/or some of the other nuts - targeted civilian targets and on a few occasions 150-250 civilians did die.
The old saying goes, "Blood leads," with the press. We do know that following the surge with the death toll rapidly decreasing over the months - the press pulled out of Iraq - was the other way when the violence was dramatically on the increase - the reports of violence lead in every news outlet.
I still don't remember seeing a single one that suggested that 693 had died in one day -- not to mention 2100 straight days.
Let me pose a Q to you. Which was worse - Clinton/Gore setting up the US program of extraordinary rendition in the mid-90's (and doing more before 9/11 than after) or waterboarding 3 known serious mass murderers/terrorists?
Not surprising that Bush upped it following 9/11 considering what we were willing to do prior.
Yes, I wish that Bush could have done this in some better manner. But hey, the world didn't care about the couple million who'd died at the hands of Saddam, and the untold hundreds of thousands who'd been tortured, etc.
There was no SaveIraq.org
In the absence of humanity in the world, someone is going to come along and decide enough is enough and just do it there way.
There is no high ground here.
He's a footnote. Stop giving news space!
As log as the mainstream media gives he and his ilk a stage and sounding board, they will use it as a bully-pulpit to abuse and maintain power over the ignorant and deluded and anybody else who will give them even a modicum of credibility, which is still far too many for comfort and the rest of the world's peace of mind.
And you can throw Oliver North into that general pit of rats too, although he is certainly not a coward like the rest of 'em, just a warmonger and manipulator, keeping a lower profile these days.
We can't wait for history to be judge -we need to go after and make examples of these insults to all reason and humanity AND cowards right now!
And to think that Troy Davis was lynched for nothing!!
As Bob Dylan ended 'The lonesome Death of Poor Hattie Carol': -"Take the rag away from y'r face, for now is the time for y'r tears"!
So - your comments are more astute than many would know.
Watch out another Jersey nut job is going to announce he should roll on into the GOP Campaign. He like Perry should not be taken seriously. He has not finished a term but he has his idols who want to rid the State of him by shoving him on us. Good people in Jersey will tell you not to take him seriously. I certainly do not want him ruining our Country.
Thought of some investments while watching the wives of Perry and such come out from the holes...Peroxid e. There is just so much that your skin and brain should have to be impaled with. But with the amount of roots I see daily, Peroxide, and hair stripping agent is definitely not going out of business.
Ms Perry never campaigned for her husband running for Governor, now why is that?
RL I believe in spay and neutering program, would have alleviated much pain for the USA for decades.
In 1989 after getting the DOD job from Bush 1.
"I had other priorities in the 60's than military service."
Only the ignorant could think this is an American hero?
I agree with you!!
I come upon the scene of a horrendous accident...
- Cheney is a victim in need of CPR...
- Nobody in the area knows CPR but me...
- I stand there thinking - I HAVE HIT THE LOTTERY!!!...as I watch the gleam of life fade from his eyes...
- I wake up, with a smile on my face, knowing...I can't be convicted for a dream.
Just when you think no one could say anything more ridiculous than what they've already said, we've got this man who refuses to shut up to top himself.
Cheney is the epitome of these things.
The Atlantic: in Secret - killing American Citizens
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/10/the-secret-memo-that-explains-why-obama-can-kill-americans/246004/
And the WH tested the message with reporters? And, no WaPost or NYTimes headlined stories appeared (thinking of NSA groundbreaking front page stories -- and no Richard Wilson came out opining about what may be going on?)
Protected by his media - to a great extent. But - it's been so bad, so foul, that bit by bit, breaks are appearing in the national media.
It's about time - two years and 3 months after Helen Thomas screeched about this White House:
"Nixon didn’t try to do that. They couldn’t control [the media]. They didn’t try that. What the hell do they think we are, puppets? They’re supposed to stay out of our business. They are our public servants. We pay them. ... I’m not saying there has never been managed news before, but this is carried to fare-thee-well- -for the town halls, for the press conferences. It’s blatant. They don’t give a damn if you know it or not. They ought to be hanging their heads in shame."
National media didn't report that, either.
How sad for him, his daughter and the rest of us....
Cheney is the one who should apologize for all the tragic mistakes he and his boss made--Iraq--ren dition--lots of lies--not enough regulation--did n't realize a deep recession was brewing. Oy vay!
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